The Wildcat is a competent fighter with some excellent strengths and some glaring weaknesses. Dogfighting in the Wildcat can get you killed. Teamwork and team tactics make all the difference.

Stick together with your squad-mates. Four—or even two—Wildcats can provide mutual protection; a single Wildcat is a tempting target for marauding enemy fighters.

Use team tactics to defeat harder-turning, faster-climbing Zeros and Hayabusas (“Oscars”).

Use the weight and power of your plane to dive away from trouble. Lightweight Zeros and Hayabusas can’t keep up with you in a dive, but trying this move against a Shiden is very risky.

If an enemy fighter latches onto your tail, you probably can’t evade by maneuvering or out-climbing him, so turn in to him to go head-to-head. You’ve got the firepower to do a lot of damage and the armor to withstand more hits, so playing “chicken” isn’t as crazy as it sounds.

If you score hits on the enemy’s fuel tanks and you can see unignited fuel vapor leaking out, fire at the plume to ignite it with your tracer